


Down

by aravenwood



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Gen, Hurt Prompto Argentum, Poor Noctis Lucis Caelum, Poor Prompto Argentum, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 18:25:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14026041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aravenwood/pseuds/aravenwood
Summary: A battle gone wrong leaves Noct and the others with a difficult decision to make.





	Down

**Author's Note:**

> So...this is a thing that happened...and I definitely didn't cry while writing this...so be warned. Actually coming up with a beginning and end for this fic was very nearly the death of me. But yeah, enjoy!

Noct saw a flash of silver less than a second before Prompto screamed. He couldn’t turn around to see what had happened, not with so many MTs swinging and shooting at him, each blow meant to kill. “Iggy!” he shouted, and the advisor took off at a run towards where Noct knew Prompto had been. He wanted nothing more than to follow, but he couldn’t, not yet. The most important thing was making sure they were safe before he could focus anything else. So he swung wildly, warping from one enemy to the next, barely sparing them a glance before they were down.

By the time Noct was finished and running to his friends, there was blood on Prompto’s chin, and he had a sickening vision of the blond collapsing to his knees with it pouring from his mouth. Ignis was at his side with his hands pushing down on the wound while Gladio was cradling his head and stroking his hair. All the while Prompto’s eyes were glazed with pain and every now and again he would let out a horrible choking noise only to go silent once more. Apart from that, though, he was almost lifeless; his body barely twitching even when Ignis pressed harder in an attempt to stem the blood flow.

“Noct, I need a potion!” Ignis snapped and Noct finally tore his eyes from Prompto’s face. The advisor hadn’t even looked up, hadn’t stopped sending Prompto calming waves with a look for even a second. Noct didn’t know if it helped.

He called for a potion in the armiger but nothing came. Tried for a hi-potion, then an elixir and still nothing. “We’re out!” he cried, panic in his voice. No they couldn’t be out, Specs was always so careful to keep them well-stocked in case of a fight that went horribly wrong. Just like this one had.

Ignis finally shot him a wide-eyed look, fear visible for only a second before his mask fell back into place. “What about a Phoenix Down?” he asked quietly. It was Gladio’s turn to look shocked now, but another weak cough from Prompto had his attention returning to what was most important here – keeping the blond quiet, still and calm. Panicking wouldn’t help him, it would probably only make things worse.

Noct called for one in the armiger and less than a second later he was clutching one of the flaming feathers in his hand. “That’s not going to help,” he protested even as he fell to his knees at Prompto’s side. His free hand wrapped around that of his friend’s, squeezing until teary blue eyes met his. “It’s alright, Specs will think of something, this will all be over soon.”

“Indeed.” Ignis’s voice was low and miserable. His hands were shaking.  He was no longer looking at Prompto, wasn’t looking at anyone. It was unnerving to see him so anxious and insecure, so unsure of his own thoughts. It wasn’t right.

But it was as if none of them had spoken. Prompto’s eyes were barely open and they were staring at nothing, so blank that Noct fumbled for his wrist and didn’t take a breath until he found a rapid pulse fluttering weakly beneath his fingers. He was holding on, barely. Like that meant anything with them stuck out here with nothing to help him – he may as well be dead for all the help they could give him.

Noct looked down at the Phoenix Down still clutched in one hand, and he felt the colour drain from his face. No, there had to be another way, there had to be a potion around here somewhere, even just one that might take the deadliness out of the wound so they could move the blond and get him some real help. They couldn’t let him die like this; slowly and painfully, none of the suddenness he had ever experienced in battle. It would traumatise him – he would never forget how it felt, how terrifying it was to fight for each breath, facing the possibility that every single one he drew in might be the last. No, Noct couldn’t let him experience that. It would break him.

But as Prompto drew in another shallow breath and he twisted once more beneath Ignis’s hands, Noct realised that they had no choice in the matter. He was going to die no matter what they did, and at least they had something to bring him back. He wouldn’t be gone for long, just enough that they would feel his absence and begin to mourn just as he took his first deep breath.

“Prompto, I need you to listen carefully to me, alright? I know you’re tired and in pain but this is very important for you to know,” Ignis started, and Gladio gently patted Prompto’s cheek with the back of one hand. As Prompto’s eyelids opened a little more, the advisor nodded his thanks. “We don’t have any potions to give you. I’m sorry.”

“…hurts,” Prompto whispered with a little desperation hidden among the weakness of his voice. Tears were falling freely now but the single sob which tried to escape only made him choke on the blood rising in his throat. It flew from his mouth in one horrible splutter and landed on Ignis’s cheek. A few drops splashed onto his glasses. Noct winced at the sight.

Ignis, however, didn’t even flinch. “Shh, love, I know it does but it’ll all be over soon, I promise. We have a Phoenix Down right here, you’ll be back before you know it.” His voice cracked a little on the last few words and Noct swore he even saw a couple of stray tears on his cheek. Which was alright because he was crying too, and Gladio had been abnormally silent for the last several minutes and hadn’t once torn his eyes from Prompto’s face. His expression was like steel as he held the blond’s head steady, a precaution which was no longer necessary with Prompto as weak he was. Nonetheless his grip never faltered.

“Down?” Prompto slurred, and his eyes took on a little more focus as they met Ignis’s. “You mean…I’m gonna die?” He started to shift weakly, but the movement was unexpected and Noct watched as Ignis’s hands slipped enough that blood began to pour once more. There was so much of the stuff; on Prompto’s hands and vest and bare stomach – Ignis had his vest pulled up to uncover the wound, commenting quietly about how uncomfortable it would be to have it pushed into the wound –, on Ignis’s hands and the front of his shirt. There couldn’t be much blood left inside Prompto at this rate.

The words caught Noct off-guard. He was sure none of them expected Prompto to really understand what they were saying, not when he was so weak. But he had and that hurt, because who wanted to tell another human – especially one as sweet and kind-hearted as Prompto – that they were going to die? Even the promise of resurrection couldn’t take the fear from that.

For the first time, Gladio spoke. “Yeah you’re gonna die, but don’t worry kid, because we’re going to help you along and get rid of this pain for you.”

Noct stared at the other man in shock. What? Was Gladio really promising Prompto that they were going to kill him? They weren’t going to do that – they couldn’t do that!

Gladio’s eyes met Noct. There was none of the hardness there that Noct had been expecting, just pain and misery, grief and determination. “What?” he hissed, “look at him, he’s in pain. More pain than he’s ever been in in his entire life and it isn’t stopping. It might not stop for hours. Do you really want that for him – a slow, painful death? Or do you want this over for him so he can get over this and we can all pretend this never happened?”

“I’m not going to kill my best friend,” Noct snapped.

“So you want him to suffer for his king, is that it? You’re going to keep him alive just so you can sleep at night. Oh yeah, because that’s what’s best for him.”

“Killing him isn’t the answer.”

“Keeping him alive isn’t solving much either so it looks like we’re stuck.”

“Why don’t we ask Prompto what he wants?” Ignis interrupted loudly, shooting both of them warning looks. This wasn’t what Prompto needed, to listen to two of his best friends arguing over his fate. “He’s lucid enough to hear the two of you, that means he can decide what’s best for him instead of you two bickering over his head.”

Noct lowered his eyes to Prompto’s face and was met with such powerful fear in those eyes that tears started to fall all over again. “I’m sorry, Prom. This isn’t a decision you should have to make. You don’t deserve this,” he whispered and was met with another choking cough and more blood splattering, this time hitting his arm. He stared at it with wide eyes, both desperate to wipe it away and unable to do so. He felt sick.

“Tell us what you want, Prompto,” Ignis requested quietly while Gladio wiped the blood from Prompto’s mouth with one hand. It was so gentle and caring a gesture that Noct realised for the first time that Gladio really thought they were doing what was best for Prompto by ending his life. All of the anger he’d been feeling left his body in one quick flood, leaving behind only grief and confusion. He didn’t know what to do.

Neither, it seemed, did Prompto. His eyes darted between the three of them, still glazed but all too coherent for his current condition – Noct’s heart swelled with pride that his best friend had held on for so long, even through the pain and fear threatening to overwhelm him. His fingers twitched weakly on the ground, an anxious gesture it seemed to Noct until suddenly Prompto was bolt upright, knocking all of the hands away from him. “I don’t want to die, please don’t let me die. I promise I’ll be better, I promise, please just help me. Noct, please, I don’t want to die!” His bloody hands latched onto Noct, then a second later onto Ignis. “It hurts, it hurts so much!” This time when he coughed, it wasn’t just once but several horrible choking ones, each of which brought up more blood. It poured freely down his chin and pooled in the soft material of his vest. That would never come out, Noct thought absently. They would buy him a new one. Ten new ones, just in case the same thing happened again.

Oh god, what if it did? What had he forced his best friend into – a cycle of death and resurrection, each more traumatic than the last?

Ignis placed one gentle hand on Prompto’s shoulder and another on his cheek. “Shhh. Come now Prompto, let’s get you lying down shall we -?” Before Ignis could even finish, however, the younger man slumped heavily forwards, all of his remaining strength draining from his body. “Prompto? Prompto! Gladio, help me sit him back,” Ignis ordered urgently, and then once Prompto was on his back, his fingers fumbled to find a pulse. There were a few tense seconds before a sharp nod.

“What do we do now?” Gladio asked softly.

“He’s in pain,” Noct whispered and lifted his eyes to meet Gladio’s. “He’s so scared and he’s in so much pain and we…we’re just sitting here doing…nothing!” He was shouting by the end, all of the fear he’d hidden from Prompto exploding outwards in one short burst. He didn’t bother wiping away his tears – there was no point when the other two looked so close to joining him in his sobs.

No one spoke, but Noct knew they were all thinking the same. Watching as Prompto fought for each breath, skin translucent and lips a little blue, each of them knew what had to be done.

Noct bowed his head and took a deep, shuddering breath. “I’ll do it,” he said, voice numb and dull like the rest of him.

“No, I should do it.” “Noct, we can’t ask you to do that. He’s your best friend.” The protests blurred together into noise, and Noct ignored them both. He stretched out one hand and called for one of Ignis’s daggers. It was heavy and uncomfortable between his fingers.

“I’m so sorry, Prom. You know I wouldn’t do this if there was another way, but there isn’t and…and I’m so sorry. You don’t deserve this, you don’t deserve any of this but-but the pain, you’re in so much pain and soon you won’t be. It’ll be like nothing ever happened.” Except it wouldn’t be, because Noct was sure he would never forget what he was about to do.

He raised the dagger and let it hang over Prompto’s stomach, his hands shaking. He wanted to throw up but he couldn’t, not yet, not until Prompto was breathing and happy and healthy. Then and only then could he break.

“Noct…” Ignis started in a low, careful voice. Before Noct could snap that he could do this, that it had to be him, Ignis placed one hand over his and moved it higher up Prompto’s body so that it was directly over his heart. “Here will be quicker. He won’t feel a thing.”

Noct nodded firmly, squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to bring the knife down. Before he could, however, there were once again hands on his. He opened his eyes again, prepared to snap at whoever was stopping him.

It was Gladio this time. His eyes were soft but teary, and his hands were wrapped around Noct’s, squeezing tightly. “It’s going to take a lot of strength to get through the bone,” he said. Noct only nodded again. His voice wouldn’t work.

The knife clutched between their hands, together they raised it high, then plunged it through Prompto’s chest. Blood spurted for only a second then stopped. Ignis, his fingers on the pulse point in Prompto’s wrist, nodded regretfully. Tears glistened in his eyes.

Prompto was dead.

Noct threw the dagger as far from them as he could, receiving no protests from Ignis despite it belonging to him – none of them wanted that thing near them ever again, and none of them wanted Prompto to see one of Ignis’s daggers slick with his own blood. They couldn’t do that to him.

He was so still and so quiet, nothing like he was supposed to be. Prompto didn’t suit being motionless and now was no exception. It was just wrong. But even worse were his eyes; staring vacantly at the canopy of trees above them, looking but not seeing. They were so dull it was frightening, and Noct began to cry all over again. This wasn’t Prompto – it was nothing but an empty shell which wore his face.

“Noct,” Ignis interrupted softly. “Even when we give him the phoenix down he’ll be very weak. He may not remember the attack.” There was something hanging in the air with his words, something he didn’t dare say but which came across nonetheless. His eyes said everything they needed to.

Pulling the phoenix down from the armiger, Noct shook his head in disbelief. “You can’t honestly be saying that we lie to him. After what we – what _I_ did, he deserves to know the truth,” he snapped but with none of the strength that he needed. His hand trembled as he passed over the phoenix down.

“We _all_ did it,” Gladio corrected harshly. He’d moved away from Prompto’s body and was pacing back and forth, fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. His eyes were filled with something dangerous. “Iggy’s right, we can’t tell him.”

“I’m not lying to my best friend,” Noct said through his teeth. He watched as Ignis pressed the feather into Prompto’s hand and lifted it to his chest. It burst quickly out of existence and all they could do for several moments was watch the blond’s face and pray that it worked. Even as the wounds knitted in front of them Prompto didn’t take a breath. Oh god, what if it didn’t work? What if they’d killed him for good?

Prompto came to life with all of the drama and sluggishness with which he'd died. His eyes shot open and he started to take in every bit of air that he could, even to the extent that he seemed close to hyperventilating. He knew that he'd died, Noct guessed; those weren't the breaths of someone who thought they'd always breathed but of someone who knew they had been without and was terrified of it happening again. But if he knew that then what else did he know?

Gladio sat Prompto up a little, catching his head when it started to loll to the side. "Hey, none of that. Deep breaths," he ordered and, propping Prompto up against his chest, started to take slow, deliberate breaths which Noct could hear even from where he was sitting. He glanced sideways and found Ignis watching too, his expression a little tight but with a fond smile on his lips. Noct couldn't help but mirror it; a small smile which quickly made way for a much larger one. His entire body flooded with relief watching Prompto's breaths slow down to almost normal, heart stopping for a second as the blond's body went loose and pliant in Gladio's grip.

"He's exhausted," Ignis reassured, pulling a water bottle from the armiger and crouching at Prompto's side. "Prompto, can you hear me? I know that you must be confused but we will explain everything in just a moment. But first you should drink. You're dehydrated and the sooner we can fix that the better." His voice was soft in his explanation, never giving too much away - never confessing or hiding their guilt, simply not addressing it before they had to. He pressed the open bottle to Prompto's mouth and tilted it up just enough that the water trickled slowly between parted lips. For a second Prompto choked on it, just like he'd choked on his own blood, but he learned to swallow and did so obediently. His eyes were clouded, still a little lifeless as his mind tried to catch up to being alive once more. After a few sips he let out a quiet moan and Ignis pulled the bottle away. “That’s alright, you can have more later. I can’t imagine you’re feeling very much right now, I know how phoenix downs can make you a little numb.”

At that, Noct snorted. Prompto was normally a little loopy for hours after using a phoenix down; tripping all over the place, laughing at nothing, wrapping himself around whoever was closest in the car and refusing to let go, even when they made it to a motel. He was doing none of that now, though. Noct knew he couldn’t expect Prompto to bounce back immediately, but normally he did. Then again, normally their deaths weren’t nearly as traumatic or as drawn-out. He was entitled to be a little exhausted.

“Prom,” Noct whispered, wrapping his fingers around Prompto’s thin wrist and taking pleasure in the soft, steady beat he felt there. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Noct, now isn’t the time -,” Ignis began, shooting Noct a hard stare. He was interrupted, however, by another moan from Prompto and his expression immediately softened. “Shhh, just relax. Your body needs time to recover.”

Prompto nodded sluggishly but still rolled his head sideways to meet Noct’s eyes. His expression was a little clearer, his eyes a little less dull. “Wha’?” he slurred. It seemed that even as out of it as he was he’d been able to pick up on Noct’s nervousness because his hands were twitching restlessly on the ground, his body still too weak to do anything else.

“This is our fault Prom. My fault. I did this to you.”

His eyes immediately widened and his twitching grew even worse. “Wha’?” he said again with more urgency this time. “I don’t understand…”

“I’m so sorry, there was nothing we could do you were just in so much pain and we had no potions, I’m so sorry Prom I just -.” Noct fell silent as Prompto’s face suddenly went slack and he slumped to the ground in a dead faint. “Prompto?”

“It’s alright,” Ignis assured him, “he’s exhausted. The sleep will allow his body to recover. And Noct…he might not remember what you’ve told him.”

“Then I’m going to keep telling him until he remembers.”

Ignis nodded once in understanding. “Very well. Let us head to a motel for the night, the last thing he needs in this conditioning is to sleep on the cold ground. He cannot afford to get ill with his body as weak as it is,” he explained and as if he’d been waiting for those words, Gladio picked Prompto up in his arms and started to head towards the Regalia. Ignis followed but Noct stayed back for a second to frown at the blood which stained the grass. Prompto’s blood. Every single drop of it.

\--

Telling Prompto the second time around was so much harder now that he was mostly lucid if a little sluggish. He was confined to the bed on Ignis’s orders and for once he was actually doing as he was told – Noct was sure it was mainly because his legs were still too weak to hold him up. He was silent throughout Noct’s confession, his expression unreadable. Every now and again he would shoot Ignis or Gladio a look as if asking them to confirm that this wasn’t just some sick joke Noct wanted to play on him.

By the time Noct was finished, he was off the bed and facing the wall, hands twisted in his hair as he tried to hold it together for Prompto’s sake. He couldn’t bear the silence. He wanted Prompto to scream or cry or…something that wasn’t that carefully crafted stare. Not knowing what the blond was thinking made this so much worse than he could ever have imagined. “Please say something,” he begged when the silence became too much.

Prompto coughed once – he’d been doing that a lot and Noct was worried, but Ignis assured him that it was because of the blood which had entered his lungs and that it would disappear soon. “I…what do you want me to say?”

“Anything. Scream at me, tell me I’m a bad friend, that you don’t want to be part of the Crownsguard anymore. Just…say something!” Noct shouted, finally turning to make eye contact. He regretted it because now Prompto just looked afraid like Noct had never seen him – not aimed at him, anyway. The look made him feel sick, and he slowly returned to sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached a hand out to touch Prompto’s leg, but a flinch stopped his hand in mid-air.

“Prompto…” Ignis said in his most gentle voice. “You must understand that this wasn’t a decision made solely by Noct. We all believed that doing what we did was better than allowing you to suffer. There was no malice in our actions.”

“I know,” Prompto said softly, his voice a little cracked, “I know.” But he wouldn’t look at them now, nor anywhere near them. His eyes were on his lap, one hand wound around his abdomen like it had been a lot since his stabbing. It was like he needed a constant reminder that it was healed, that he wasn’t still bleeding out. But that didn’t make sense because he acted like he didn’t remember anything. Maybe he didn’t, or maybe he remembered the pain. That wasn’t something Noct thought he would be able to forget – he’d never forgotten the pain of the malboro attack, after all.

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence. No one knew what to say which could make the situation better or even less difficult, which was fine because this wasn’t meant to be easy, it wasn’t meant to be easy for your best friend to forgive you for killing them. Even still, it was the ambiguity which was like torture. Prompto’s face gave nothing away.

Finally, his eyes met Noct’s. “I’m tired,” he whispered and slumped lower in his bed. Gladio moved to help but was met with a flinch as powerful as the last one. His expression darkened and a few seconds later he stormed out of the motel room. A small part of Noct wished he could go too.

“Prom, you’ve got to talk to us-.”

“I don’t want to talk! What is there to say – ok yeah I forgive you for killing me? Is that what you want to hear?” Prompto snapped.

“If that’s the truth. Do you forgive us?”

Prompto sighed. “I don’t know. I…I want to be alone.”

Noct opened his mouth to protest but Ignis intervened before he could. “Very well, but I must insist that you remain in bed while we’re gone and that you call us if you need anything.”

The only response he received was a short nod before Prompto burrowed his head under the covers and seemed to fall asleep. Each breath was too regular though, too calculated for that to be true. They left him nonetheless, Noct slumping heavily against the door as soon as it was shut behind him. “What have we done?” he whispered into his hands.

A minute passed with no answer. He lifted his eyes to meet Ignis’s and found them filled with regret. He could offer no comfort or support. They could only wonder if Prompto would ever forgive them.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
